Hospital admits causing death of new-born

Thomas Beaty: Health trust admits responsibility for his death

THE Royal Oldham Hospital has admitted causing the death of a new-born baby following a failed forceps delivery.

Thomas Beaty survived for only 26 hours after being born by emergency caesarean section following five failed attempts to deliver him using forceps at the hospital in April 2014..

Pennine Acute NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, confirmed to his family that baby Thomas died as a result of head injuries sustained from the repeated use of forceps and being pushed back into the womb.

An inquest earlier this year concluded Thomas had died from serious head injuries and that the hospital had acted outside national guidelines. The trust has since changed its own guidelines regarding the use of forceps.

Parents Hannah and Martin Beaty, from Royton, say they are saddened at the hospital’s inevitable admission.

Hannah (33), a schools liaison officer, said: “We wanted answers, we wanted the hospital to be accountable for what they had done, but we also wanted change so that other families wouldn’t have to go through what happened to us. We’re saddened and hurt at this inevitable admission of failings, but we can now start to grieve for Thomas properly.”

Hannah and Martin (35), who also have a three-year-old son, are being represented by law firm Slater and Gordon, in a civil action against the trust. Lawyer Zak Golombeck welcomed the trust’s admission and described the altered guidelines as a “significant step”.